


We Were Born To Die

by happyscreams



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: BAMF Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Bisexual Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Bisexual Nancy Wheeler, F/F, Good Friend Robin Buckley, Good Friend Steve Harrington, Jim "Chief" Hopper Lives, Later On lol, Lesbian Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Lesbian Robin Buckley, Matchmaker Robin Buckley, Maxine "Max" Mayfield Needs a Hug, Maxine "Max" Mayfield is a Good Friend, Maybe - Freeform, Nancy Wheeler Is a Good Friend, Past Abuse, Past Character Death, Past Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, Protective Steve Harrington, i might add robin/nancy later on but who knows, i'll get him out of there don't worry, idk which, in the upside down but still, later on, robin in the best lesbian wingman period, susan mayfield is a good parent, this might diverge from canon but only a little
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-25 10:34:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22430863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happyscreams/pseuds/happyscreams
Summary: September, 1985It's been two months since the mindflayer's return and Max Mayfield's life has been quiet. With her best friend hundreds of miles away and the remaining Party members in Hawkins basically shunning her, Max Mayfield has never felt more alone. One random afternoon, Max visits the wreckage of Starcourt Mall and finds a mysterious girl with powers and the number "004" tattooed on her wrist living in the abandoned mall. Max finds herself drawn to Four and befriends her and others in town she never thought she'd be friends with. Max and her newfound friends show Four all Hawkins has to offer, and together they uncover dark secrets lying within the town, including: a certain scientist's return from Russia, vicious Demogorgons, and a sign of life from the Upside Down. A sign of human life.
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Mayfield & Nancy Wheeler, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Original Female Character(s), Robin Buckley & Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington & Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Steve Harrington & Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Susan Hargrove & Maxine "Max" Mayfield
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

Max Mayfield was bored.

She had been laying on her bed listening to the silence for a good thirty minutes, and she was tired of it. It was a fairly sunny Saturday afternoon, but despite the sun being out, it was quite chilly, the fall weather having set in rather quickly that year. Ever since her mother (finally) got her shit together and divorced Neil, the house had attained an almost overwhelming silence. The silence is something Max still hasn’t gotten used to. It was unentertaining.

Despite its uninterest, Max welcomed the quiet. After years of not being able to sleep because of the screams that emanated throughout the house and the fear of becoming the next target of said screams, the silence was gladly accepted by both Max and her mother. Because it was much better than the alternative. The silence was practically Max’s best friend at this point, so maybe Max wasn’t bored.

Max Mayfield was lonely.

Loneliness was an old friend of Max’s. Always being the outcast back in California made them very much acquainted, but after actually experiencing friendship here in Hawkins, the loneliness was practically unbearable.

Deciding it was time to escape the house for a bit, Max got up, put on her sneakers, grabbed her walkman and her skateboard, and headed over to her mother’s room to tell her she was going out for a bit. On the way to the room, she stopped as she passed by a familiar door with a broken lock.

_Billy’s room._

With a slightly shaking hand, Max opened the door and stepped into the, now mostly empty, space. It had been a while since she had been in here. She had slept in Billy’s bed the first week after his death, quietly sobbing into his pillow so she wouldn’t wake Neil. She always made sure to wake up early and climb out his window to escape back into her room before her stepfather woke, because she knew there would be consequences if he found her crying in Billy’s bed. After that week, however, Max started to avoid the room at all costs, especially when Neil started cleaning it out. She tried to stop Neil from throwing Billy’s things away, but all her efforts earned her was a sharp backhand and a warning for her to go back to her room before she received further punishment. Despite herself, Max always heeded his warning and went back to her room. She still hated herself for it.

Footsteps coming down the hall interrupted Max’s thoughts. Turning around, Max saw her mother’s concerned face as she stood in the doorway.

“Are you ok, sweetie?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m just…thinking” Max replied, shifting on her feet.

“What are you thinking about?” her mother asked sweetly, though she already knew the answer to her question.

“Nothing” Max replied, giving her mother a reassuring smile as she went to walk by her, “I was just about to go ride my skateboard around town.”

Her mother gave her a knowing look as she passed, “Ok, don’t be out too late.”

“I won’t” Max said, flashing her mother her signature smirk as she stepped out of the house and closed the door softly behind her.

Finally free from the confined walls of her home, Max dropped her board and set off into town. She didn’t really know where she was headed, resolving to just go wherever her feet took her. The sound of the wheels on her board rolling always soothed her.

As she ventured around Hawkins, she couldn’t help but think about the memories that she had here with the Party. Since Hopper’s death and El’s and the Byers departure, there had been a notable quiet around town, especially from the boys. Whenever the remaining Party members hung out, everyone was considerably more downtrodden than they were before July 4th. Although Max wouldn’t really know how they were nowadays. Max hadn’t really hung out with them much since mid-August, when she broke up with Lucas for the final time. Ever since the “Battle of Starcourt”, as Dustin dubbed it, things hadn’t felt right between them and she could tell that Lucas thought the same, so Max decided to end things once and for all. She didn’t mean to hurt him but she did and the other boys immediately got defensive when Lucas told them what happened. They effectively cut her out of the Party to “protect Lucas” as Mike so eloquently put it. It hurt but no matter how hard Max tried, she couldn’t be mad at them. What they did broke her heart but she still loved them and she hates herself for it, but she knows that if they ever needed her, she would go running back to them because they were still her friends.

They were still her _family_ , and Max didn’t have much of that now.

A cold gust of wind snapped Max out of her thoughts, and she immediately recognized where she was.

Starcourt Mall.

Or, at least, what was left of it. The wreckage still stood exactly how it did that fateful July night. No one knew what to do with it. Last Max heard they were still deciding whether to rebuild the mall or tear down what was left of it and build something new there. That was months ago.

Max didn’t know why she brought herself here. She hadn’t been here since that night. Though she had no idea why she was here, she definitely hadn’t ridden all this way for nothing, so she decided to explore the wreckage. Stepping inside, she saw the inside of the mall for the first time in months. Broken glass covered the floor from when the mindflayer shattered the overhead glass to get into the mall. Fighting off the memories of that night, Max walked to what was left of Scoops Ahoy. The ice cream shop was in pretty good shape compared to the rest of the mall, the tables and booths inside being mostly broken and unusable but the counter and the room in the back behind the glass window being mostly intact.

Without meaning to, Max thought of when she brought El there for the first time. It was her first time actually hanging out with a girl her age and she was ecstatic, especially because it was _El_ she was hanging out with. After nine months of trying to be her friend, she had finally succeeded, not exactly in the circumstances she had predicted but, _still_. It was undoubtedly one of her favorite memories of the summer. Now smiling from the memory, Max allowed herself another moment before heading back to the main area of the mall but stopped dead in her tracks when she arrived to where _it_ happened. She was looking at the place where her worst memory of the summer happened.

She was standing in the place where Billy died.

All at once the memories she had been trying so hard to forget came rushing back to her and suddenly she was back in that moment watching her stepbrother get impaled by the mindflayer. She still remembers the horrified scream that tore its way out of her throat as she watched the mindflayer’s tentacle tear into her stepbrother’s flesh. She remembers running over to him with tears in her eyes, trying to get him to stay awake. She _vividly_ remembers the apologetic look in his eyes when he choked out his first and only apology to her. His despondent “I’m sorry” still echoing in her mind months later. After that everything was a blur, figuratively and literally, because she couldn’t see anything through her tears as El held her tightly in her arms.

A sudden noise brought Max out of her memories. At first Max thought she was just hearing things, but the same sound clanged again from the upper level of the mall, and that’s when Max realized.

_She’s not alone._

Blinking away the tears that had gathered in her eyes, Max cautiously made her way up to the upper layer, making sure to be as quiet as she could. Tiptoeing her way up the escalator, Max listened for more noises but none came. As she stepped off escalator, she could feel a sense of dread building in the pit of her stomach, making her queasy. Venturing further into the upper layer, she saw a room that was emitting light. Max gulped and clutched her skateboard, unsure of whether she wanted to investigate.

As she was deciding whether to keep going or not, a hand spun her around and slammed her back onto the wall next to her, while another wrapped around Max’s neck and lifted her off the ground. Surprised by the attack, Max dropped her skateboard and it clattered to the ground haphazardly. Blinking at the pain that spread across her back, Max looked at her attacker in fear and was immediately taken aback.

_It was a girl._

The girl looked about Max’s age but she was strong. Really strong. Her grip on Max’s neck being a testament to this fact. Max, however, wasn’t paying attention to that.

Max was paying attention to the girl’s arm. The girl had the arm that wasn’t holding Max against the wall positioned behind her, poised to strike Max if she needed to. But that wasn’t what Max was focused on. She was focused on the-what looked like-electricity that was coursing up her arm into her hand. The electricity gave off a blue light that illuminated the girl’s stoic face.

“Who are you” the girl demanded, breaking Max’s focus. Max gaped at her, not knowing what to say.

 _“Who are you”_ the girl demanded again, bringing her electrified hand closer to Max’s face.

“I-I’m Max. M-Max Mayfield” Max stuttered, staring once again her arm, this time with fear rather than wonder.

“Why are you here, are you from the lab?” the girl questioned forcefully.

Max’s eyes widened. “N-no, I just came to uh…visit?”, Max replied sheepishly, realizing just how suspicious that sounded. The girl looked at her skeptically, her grip unwavering. She stared into Max’s eyes like she was searching for something. She looked almost…scared, Max thought.

“I’m not going to hurt you” Max assured her softly, “I promise.”

The girl looked at her for another moment before releasing her grip and letting Max back onto the ground, the electricity on her arm dissipating. Now that she was on the ground, she noticed how much shorter she was than this girl, Max’s chin only reaching her shoulder. Max also noticed that this girl was muscular, more so than the average girl. She had her long jet-black hair drawn back into a ponytail except for the front portion which hung low over her face like bangs, but more unkempt.

Realizing that she was staring, Max blushed and went to pick up her skateboard. When she looked back up, she noticed the girl looking at her skateboard inquisitively.

Max smiled, “It’s a skateboard” she informed, causing the girl’s eyes to flick back to hers.

“Skateboard?” the girl asked, squinting in confusion. Max’s smile dropped instantly _._

_How had this girl never seen a skateboard before?_

“You don’t know what a skateboard is?” Max asked the girl, refusing to believe she didn’t know what it was. The girl shook her head in response. Max was horrified. She had to enlighten this poor girl.

“Okay, watch me” Max told her, setting down her board and putting one foot on top of it, “you just step on it like this and then just”, she pushed off with her other foot, “push”. Max smiled at the girl, going around her in a circle like she did with Mike just a year earlier, and, like Mike, the girl smiled back at her. Max noted that the girl had a pretty smile. In fact, the girl was pretty in general, very pretty. Her eyes in particular were a stunning shade of green that almost looked like emeralds.

While circling the girl, Max noticed a mark on her lower arm. Wanting to investigate this, Max stopped the board and stepped closer to the girl, who in turn stepped back.

Max softened, “I’m not going to hurt you, I promised, remember?” she asked reassuringly.

“Promise?” the girl replied, confused once again.

“A promise is something you can’t break” she informed her sweetly, “so can I see your arm please?”

The girl hesitated for a moment, then held her arm out to Max. Max grabbed her arm gently and turned it so she could see her wrist better. Looking at it closer, Max found that the mark was actually a tattoo. Max’s eyes widened. The tattoo was just like El’s except it wasn’t “011”.

It was “004”.

_Holy shit_

Max gaped at the tattoo, running her fingers over it, before looking up at the girl.

“You’re like El.”

The girl’s eyes narrowed.

“El?” she questioned. Max looked down before explaining.

“She’s my friend. She’s like you. Her name is Eleven but everyone calls her El."

The girl’s eyes lit up. “She’s like me?”

Max grinned at the girl’s excitement. “Yep, she could move things with her mind.”

Max’s smile faded a bit.

“She lost her powers though.”

“Where is she?” the girl asked with interest and Max’s smile turned to a sad one.

“She moved away.”

The girl gave Max a sympathetic look in response to the statement. “Oh. I’m sorry.”

Max gave her a half smile. “It’s alright.” It wasn’t. Max missed El everyday and while she still called every once and a while, it wasn’t the same. But Max wasn’t about to say that to a stranger.

“So, you’re also from the Hawkins Lab?” Max inquired, changing the subject before her mind could think anymore of El. The response to this question was more than enough to get her mind off of her friend, however.

The girl gave her a strange look before replying, “No, not here.” That peaked Max’s interest immediately.

“What do you mean not here, is there another lab?” Max questioned but before she could get her answer she looked up at the ceiling and saw how dark it was outside. “Shit”, Max exclaimed causing the girl to look at her in alarm. Seeing the look on the other girl’s face she said, “Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad, I just have to get home because it’s late” she told the girl comfortingly before picking up her skateboard and heading toward the escalator. As she began going down the escalator, Max realized she never got the girls name. Max turned around to face the girl, who had followed her out toward the escalator.

“What’s your name?” Max asked softly, once again struck by how pretty this girl was. The question caused the girl to look away, and Max realized, she (like El) probably didn’t have a name. Deciding to take a different approach, Max asked, “Can I call you Four?”

The girl looked up at that and pondered. Meeting Max’s gaze again, she replied, “Yes”.

Max smiled widely. “Ok cool.” She then wondered if the girl-Four had a place to stay.

“Do you live here?” Max asked, frowning slightly.

“Yes, I stay in a room down the hall here” Four said, pointing at the mostly intact Radioshack.

“Oh” Max replied simply. She couldn’t believe this girl was living in an abandoned mall. Did she have a bed? Or food? Or heat?

Max decided she was going to come back, both to help Four and get to know her because Max was lonely, and this girl was probably just as lonely, if not more.

“Can I come back tomorrow?” Max asked hopefully.

Four smiled, “Yes”.

Max smiled widely again, “Ok cool” she replied happily. Max stood there for a few more moments before realizing it was late again. “Oh yeah, I have to go” Max said hurrying down the escalator. Before exiting the building, she turned around and yelled, “See you tomorrow”.

Four yelled back, “See you tomorrow, too?”, then tilted her head to the side. It was cute. Max skated away from the wreckage happier than she had been all day. Apparently, her happiness was evident, because when she came in her mom turned to her and said, “Someone’s happy”, with a relieved smile on her face. It was good to see her daughter happy and smiling.

Max playfully scoffed. “Who said I’m happy?” she asked her mother lightheartedly. Her mom laughed lightly in response.

“I don’t know what has you so happy but I’m glad, it’s been a while since I’ve seen that smile of yours” her mother replied warmly. Max just smiled at her mom. She was right, it _had_ been a while since she had been this happy.

Her mother’s voice broke her from her thoughts, “Well, you can go cool off in your room for a bit if you want, dinner will be ready in half an hour”.

“Ok” Max said. Max started heading toward the hallway but stopped, turned around, and told her mother for the first time in a while,

“Thanks, Mom.”

Her mom turned around in surprise, speechless at her words. This was the first good moment she’d had with her daughter since Neil left. She smiled at the fact that they were _finally_ making progress.

“Of course, sweetie.”

Max grinned and headed toward her room, collapsing on her bed contentedly once inside.

She couldn’t wait for tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

Max woke up the next morning to the sound of her radio playing, Madonna’s voice pulling her from her dreamless sleep. She laid there and stared at the ceiling for a couple moments before remembering the events of previous day. The mall, her mom, Four.

_Four_

Max immediately got up and started rushing to get dressed, grabbing the first shirt and pair of jeans she saw and pulling them on before running to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Once her teeth were brushed, she ran a brush through her red waves a few times, so her hair looked presentable. After finishing up in the bathroom, Max ran down the hallway to find her mother making pancakes. At the sound of Max’s wild footsteps, Susan turned around to look at her daughter curiously.

“You’re up early” she stated, taking in her daughter’s slightly chaotic appearance. Max met her mom’s gaze as she tried to come up with a reason as to why she was up.

“Oh…uh, yeah, I just wanted to get a head start to the day” Max chuckled nervously, going to grab a pancake from the stack on the table. While taking bites of her breakfast, Max came up with an idea. Turning back to her mother, Max asked,

“Can I have four or five of these in a container?”

Susan didn’t know what to make of this request. At all. She gaped at Max for another moment before coming back to her senses.

“Um…yeah sure, why not” Susan said while going into one of the kitchen cabinets to grab a container for her daughter. When she found one big enough for the pancakes, she turned and handed it to Max who accepted it gratefully.

“Thanks” Max chimed, hurriedly stuffing a handful of pancakes into the container so she could leave. After filling the container, Max grabbed her skateboard and ran towards the door. Before she opened the door, Max turned, remembering she hadn’t told her mother she was going out.

“Hey Mom, I’m gonna go out to town. I’ll probably be out all day so don’t bother making me any lunch.” Max gave her mother a timid smile. Her mother frowned.

“Oh…are those pancakes going to be enough for you to eat all day?” she asked worriedly.

“I was going to get pizza or something while I was in town. I have my wallet with me”, Max told her mother, patting the pocket where her wallet was currently residing in.

“Alright, have fun,” her mother chuckled, “Don’t be out too late though, you have school tomorrow.”

“I’ll be back by dinner” Max quickly replied, almost tripping on the way out the door.

After getting herself together after the almost-fall, Max dropped her board, put the container of pancakes inside her jacket to protect it from the chill of the cold, and set off towards the mall.

***

A short while later, she arrived at her destination. Thrilled to finally be here, Max launched herself off her skateboard, almost dropping the pancakes in the process. After securing the breakfast goods and grabbing her skateboard off the ground, Max sprinted into the abandoned mall.

“Four, I’m back!” Max yelled out, grinning wildly.

“Max?” she heard from the upper level of the mall.

“Yep, it’s me” Max said back.

“I’m up here!”

Max immediately ran up the escalator and headed toward the Radioshack on the right. The Radioshack was tinier than most of the stores in the mall but had much more valuable items than the others. Upon entering the small store, Max saw the makeshift home that Four had put together. Small bits of debris littered the floor at the front of the store, but the back portion of the shop was fairly clean. Phones of all different colors were lying on the floor recklessly, like they had been thrown. Toward the back sat Four who was rigorously searching through boxes of phones, throwing all the ones that she didn’t need out of her way. It was an intriguing sight.

“What are you doing?”, Max asked, very amused by the scene unfolding in front of her. Four merely grunted in response, continuing her search. Max moved closer, the sound of her footsteps making Four tense up and glance up at Max apprehensively. Seeing the girl’s reaction Max put her hands up, “Hey, it’s just me” she reassured. Four relaxed at Max’s voice and continued searching through the phones. Max just quietly observed until Four suddenly jumped up with a phone box in her hand. She watched Four run over to the wall where the store phone sat. She promptly unplugged the store phone and replaced it with a bright blue one before turning back to Max with a huge grin in her face.

“Blue” she happily exclaimed. Max laughed softly at her enthusiasm, “Yes, blue.”

“Is blue your favorite color?” Max asked conversationally. Max wanted to know more about the girl, and she decided that her favorite color wasn’t a bad place to start. Four looked puzzled for a moment before responding.

“Yes. I like blue,” she stated, “Do you like blue?”

“Yeah, I like blue, but it isn’t my favorite.” Four tilted her head to the side.

“What is your favorite?”

“Red” Max answered, smiling kindly.

“Red” Four repeated with her head still tilted like she was trying to remember something. She stood like that for another moment before abruptly running out of the store and vaulting over the railing, dropping to the first floor twenty feet below. Max ran after her, horrified, and leaned over the railing to see if Four was injured. To her surprise Four landed gracefully on her feet and started running off to the left, completely unfazed by the fall. Max stared slack-jawed at the spot Four had just been before running to the escalator to try to catch up to her. Scrambling down the escalator, Max tried to make sense of what she had just witnessed.

How the _hell_ did she do that?

She should’ve had a sprained ankle at best or a broken leg at worst, yet she took the fall as if it were nothing? She had never seen El do anything like that before. Shaking off these thoughts, Max sprinted in the direction she saw Four run to, finding her looking through clothes in the slightly demolished The Gap. After a few moments Four emerged from the store with what looked like a shirt in hand, jogging up to Max before holding the shirt out to her, “Here.”

Max stared at her wide-eyed before shifting her focus to what Four was handing her.

“For me?” she asked and immediately kicked herself because the question was rather pointless.

“For you,” Four confirmed, a small smile adorning on her face, “It’s red.”

Max gently took the shirt from Four’s outstretched hand and looked at it. It was a simple short-sleeved red shirt with black stripes. She loved it. Max looked back up at Four, warmth spreading through her chest, “ _Thank you_ ” she said sincerely. Four’s smile widened at her words and she held Max’s grateful gaze. They stayed like that for a bit longer until Four broke the silence.

“Music?”

Max blinked before realizing what she meant.

“Yes, I’d love some music” Max replied softly. Four nodded, pointing back up toward Radioshack, “Come.”

Max gave her a thumbs up and followed Four back up the broken escalator and into the small electronics store. Four waved her hand in a ‘follow me’ gesture and led Max to a room behind the sales counter labeled “Employees Only”. Inside, the room was actually pretty spacious, its former purpose most likely being a storage or break room. Max noticed a blanket lying in the corner of the room, probably being where Four slept at night, and a boombox sitting a couple feet away from the makeshift bed. Four walked over, kneeled beside the boombox, and started trying to turn it on. Max watched as Four struggled to turn it on and observed with interest as Four put both her hands on either side of the boombox, her eyes closing in concentration. Tendrils of blue electricity danced up Four’s arms, coursing through her fingers and into the boombox. Max watched mesmerized, when suddenly the boombox roared to life, the end of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” blaring out the speakers. Both girls jumped back in surprise. Four gathered herself quickly, shooting her arm out to swiftly turn down the volume of the music before sitting down beside the boombox.

“Sorry,” Four apologized, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. Max looked at her with wide eyes.

“Are you kidding me? That was fucking amazing!” Max exclaimed, her voice brimmed with laughter. Max calmed down and took a moment to look at the tense girl sat in front of her, her voice softening before saying,

“Your powers are beautiful.”

Four didn’t reply, she just stared at Max in shock. She’d never heard anyone call her powers that before.

In the newfound silence Max heard the opening notes of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” play on the boombox and had an idea. Max walked over and pulled Four up by her hands.

“Let’s dance.”

Four squinted, “Dance?”

Max smiled at the taller girl. “You just kinda, move to the music. Like this” Max started dancing along with the beat of the song. Four watched in bewilderment. After a couple seconds Max pulled Four over to dance with her. Four copied Max’s movements until she started feeling the rhythm of the song and started dancing on her own. Max giggled as she watched the taller girl dance, her loose hair swinging wildly with every turn of her head. It was captivating to watch her move with such freedom after most likely living most of her life in captivity. A moment later Max came to her senses (stop staring, Mayfield) and began lose herself in the melody along with Four.

***

A bit later, Max and Four sat side by side on the floor, resting and talking; their dance session was long over and the boombox’s volume was significantly lower than it had been, Toto’s “Africa” playing softly in the background to add ambience. Their previous conversation, about nothing in particular, fell into a comfortable silence that neither girl felt the need to break. They were just enjoying each other’s company. After a couple minutes, however Four spoke up.

“Why were you crying?”

Confused, Max asked “Crying when?”

“Yesterday. Before you found me, you were standing downstairs crying.”

 _Oh,_ Max didn’t really know how to approach that subject. She hadn’t talked to anyone about that night in months. For some reason though, Max was willing to tell Four about what happened on July 4th. Even though they had just met yesterday, Four was Max’s first friend in while and she knew that Four had been through some traumatic shit too.

“My brother died here.” That caused Four to turn to her.

“He died here in the mall?”

“Yeah, right where I was standing yesterday.” Max informed her, choosing to look at the ground in front of her rather than at Four. When she did look back up at Four she found the taller girl still looking at her, an obvious question in her eyes. “If you wanna ask me something, go ahead. It’s okay.” Max reassured her. Four hesitated a moment before proceeding to ask her question,

“How did he die?”

_There it was_

Max sighed, steeling herself, before looking back up to meet Four’s expectant but understanding gaze. “He was killed by the mindflayer,” Max explained slowly, knowing she would lose the girl at the subject of the Upside Down.

“Mindflayer?” Four murmured, brows furrowed in confusion. Max thought about how she was going to explain the whole situation before proceeding.

“The mindflayer is a creature from the Upside Down. He always uses a host to do his bidding. His first host was my friend Will Byers, he got possessed by him and lived to tell the tale. His second host was my brother, stepbrother technically, Billy…” Max paused, collecting herself before finishing, “Billy wasn’t as lucky as Will.” Four looked away at the pain in Max’s voice.  
“Billy died keeping the mindflayer from killing El. Even though he wasn’t the greatest person, he didn’t deserve that,” Max sniffed. “No one does.”

Max looked back down in an attempt to hide the tears trailing down her cheeks. She sat there for a couple minutes, silently crying until she heard Four speak up.

“My brothers died too.”

The unexpected confession caused Max to look back up at the taller girl, no longer caring about the drying tears on her face.

_Brothers?_

Max’s shock went unnoticed by Four, who was staring off into space. Noticing the distant look on the other girl’s face, Max softened.

“You had brothers?” Max muttered in disbelief. Four simply nodded in response. “What were they like?” Max gently prodded. Four stayed quiet, and for a moment Max thought she didn’t hear her, until she started talking.

“They were…good,” Four said, struggling a bit with her words, “They hated the lab. They promised to get me out. One was cold.” Four stated before pausing to reconsider her words. “Sorry,” She told Max, agitated that she couldn’t think of the correct term she wanted to use.

“It’s ok. Take your time” Max assured Four, seeing her frustration.

After a brief pause, Four continued.

“One could control ice. He could make the room cold. Once he used the water they gave us to make snow. It was fun.” Four smiled at the memory, a regretful grimace soon took its place as she continued. “Two could control fire. He was always too hot so he would give me his blankets to use at night. He was also really strong. Three could turn his um…his skin into any metals that he touched.” Four finished. Max was dumbfounded.

“They sound like they were great.” Max wanted to ask how they died but didn’t wanna bring any bad memories back. Four looked over at her, seeing the reluctance written on her face.

“If you want to ask me something, Max, go ahead. It’s ok.” Four mirrored with a small smile on her face.

Max grinned at her words, gulping before asking the question written in her mind. “How did they die?”

Four’s smile dropped immediately. Staring numbly ahead as she began the story, “We were doing well with testing. We obediently did everything they asked, we let them put their needles in our arms, we were good. But Father saw through our us. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t escape the lab. He wouldn’t let us leave, so we started coming up with our own plan. We came up with a strategy that would finally grant us our freedom. On the day we planned to escape, Father took Two for ‘unplanned testing’. We didn’t like the sound of that, but we were not going to leave our brother behind, so we waited. We waited a long time then suddenly the lab alarms started going off through the building. None of us knew what was happening and we kept trying to break down the door so we could get Two and leave. The door was finally opened by someone on the outside. When the door fully opened, we saw Two standing there and One ran up to ask him if he was alright but…”

Four stopped, her eyes shining. Max laced her fingers through Four’s, a silent gesture of comfort. Four sniffed before continuing.

“Two grabbed One’s arm, pulled him forward and put his arm straight One’s chest.” Max’s eyes widened in shock, unconsciously squeezing Four’s hand.

“Me and Three were terrified. Two stepped over One’s body and we could see behind him that there was smoke coming into the room from out in the hall. Two started shooting flames around the room and we both realized, he was setting the building on fire. The building was starting to fall apart beneath us. We needed to get out, but we knew that Two wouldn’t let us escape. Three turned to me and told me to run as fast as I could and do not look back. He smiled and said that he loved me, then turned his skin to metal and charged Two. I watched them fight at first. Three breaking Two’s bones with his punches and Two starting to melt Three’s skin. I heard a piece of the ceiling starting to fall above me so I ran as fast as I could, avoiding falling debris along the way. When I finally made it out, I looked back and the entire building collapsed in on itself.

“I was the only survivor.” Four’s voice broke and she turned away, her shoulders now shaking with her silent cries. Max had tears of her own running down her cheeks. Her chest hurt thinking about what Four went through. Silently, Max rested her head on the crying girl’s shoulder and brought the hand that wasn’t occupied and wrapped it around Four’s arm, trying to show as much support as she could. Once their tears dried, Max finally spoke.

“I’m so sorry about your brothers, Four.” She said sincerely, squeezing Four’s hand once again. Four squeezed Max’s hand in return.

“I’m sorry about Billy”

The girls fell into silence after that, quietly comforting one another until Max noticed the sun beginning to set.

“I have to go” Max said sadly, picking her head up from its place on Four’s sturdy shoulder. Four said nothing but met Max’s gaze. “I don’t wanna leave.” Max laughed softly, though they both knew she wasn’t joking. Four once again stayed quiet but squeezed Max’s hand as if to say, _I don’t want you to go either._

Max untangled her fingers from Four’s, immediately missing the warmth, and walked out to retrieve her skateboard and her new shirt. While bending down to pick up her belongings, Max noticed the forgotten container of pancakes laying next to it. Max picked up the container and turned around to face Four, who was just exiting the storage room.

“I brought these for you but forgot to give them to you.” Max outstretched her hand, offering the container to a puzzled looking Four. “What is it?” Four hesitantly took the container, giving it and its contents an odd look.

“They’re called pancakes. My mom made them; she makes the _best_ pancakes, they’re amazing. I think you’ll really like them.” Max rambled, giving Four a nervous smile. Four nodded her head, a small smile of her own appearing on her face.

“Thank you, Max” Four said sincerely. Max blushed at her words and looked down in an attempt to hide the warmth on her face.

“No problem.”

Max turned to walk towards the escalator but was stopped by Four’s sudden question.

“Will you come back?” Four asked, her voice a bit quieter than usual. Max turned back around. “Of course,” she immediately replied, then remembered she had school, the thought of this earning a small grimace from Max. “I have school tomorrow though, so I’ll be here later than I was today.”

Four tilted her head. “School?”

Max sighed. “Yeah, it’s something I’m required to go to.”

_Unfortunately_

Seeing the sky darken a bit, Max forced herself to say goodbye. “I’ll see you tomorrow, ok?”

“Tomorrow” Four stated, nodding. Max smiled then turned and jogged down the escalator and headed out the mall, waving at Four (who, of course, waved back). On the journey home, Max clutched the shirt Four gave her, already missing the other girl’s presence. It was probably bad that Max had only known this girl for two days and she was already somewhat codependent on her, but she was just happy to have _someone_ to talk to.

Max arrived back home (thankfully) before the sun fully set. When she walked in, she found her mother sitting on the couch watching the television. She looked turned around at the sound of the door opening and got up to greet her daughter.

“Hey sweetie, how was your day? Did you have fun?” she asked Max, smiling.

“Yeah, I did” Max answered honestly, returning her mother’s warm smile.

“That’s great, sweetie.” Her mother exclaimed softly, then noticed the red shirt Max was holding. “That’s a nice shirt. Where did you get it?”

Max hesitated, unsure whether to lie or tell her mother the truth.

“A friend gave it to me.” Max answered, a smile adorning her face at the thought of Four.

“Oh, I see,” Susan said, observing Max’s smile, “Well that’s wonderful, I’m glad you found someone to keep you company.”

Susan didn’t know who this “friend” was (she knew it wasn’t one of the boys that Max used to always hang out with; she didn’t know the full details, but she knew that they had a falling out with Max and hadn’t spoken to her since) but it didn’t matter. She trusted her daughter’s judgement and she recognized the look on Max’s face just then. It was safe to assume this friend was responsible for the good mood Max had retained throughout the past couple days. Whoever it was made her daughter _happy_ , and that’s all that really mattered to her.

“Well, there’s leftovers in the fridge if you’re hungry. You can take it back to your room to eat if you’d like.” Susan informed her. Max immediately ran over to the fridge, grabbed the first thing she saw and stuck it in the microwave. She didn’t even notice how hungry she was until her mother mentioned food.

_Was she that distracted by Four all day?_

Max’s thoughts were interrupted by the ding of the microwave, signaling that her food was ready. While taking out her food Max heard her mother’s voice.

“You can take it to eat in your room if you’d like, just make sure to come out to put the plate in the sink before bed.” Her mother said. Max grinned, thankful that she and her mother were getting along much better now than they had been in the past months. “Ok I’ll be sure to bring the plate back, thanks Mom.” Max started down the hallway, hearing her mother’s faint “Your welcome” before entering her room and settling down on her bed to start eating.

Once she finished, Max walked back out to the kitchen and put her plate into the sink. Before heading back to her room to go to sleep, Max made sure to say goodnight to her mother, who happily said it back.

In bed, Max stared at her ceiling going over the day’s events in her head. She really wished there was no school the next day so she could spend the day with Four again. Max reassured herself that the school day would pass quickly, and she’d be seeing Four again in no time. Soon she decided she actually needed to get sleep so she wouldn’t be a zombie the next day, so she rolled over, closed her eyes and let the memory of her and Four dancing freely lull her into a peaceful sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> hello readers! welcome to my first fanfiction, I hope you're enjoying it so far. idk why i'm writing this but this idea has been in my head since july so might as well get it out of my system. like I said this is my first fanfiction so I apologize if my writing or formatting isn't up to par. feel free to comment, any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. see you in the next chapter :)


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